In various circumstances, people or equipment need to be protected from adverse situations that can arise in high-temperature environments. For example, air-to-air missiles and other ordnance are routinely stored or transported in containers. Unfortunately, a container carrying ordnance can sometimes be subjected to rising temperatures, which can lead to what are known as “slow cook-off” events and “fast cook-off” events. Additionally, excessive heating can cause ignition prior to pressurization when dealing with certain materials such as hydrogen fuel cells or liquid fuel transpot.
A “slow cook-off” event occurs when ordnance is heated slowly until explosive material in the ordnance ignites. Because a casing that surrounds the explosive material is heated slowly, the casing can actually retain much of its original strength, even though the casing reaches an elevated temperature. As a result, ignition of the explosive material can actually result in detonation of the ordnance. This is clearly undesirable, particularly when the ordnance is located on a naval vessel, in a building, or in another location where people can be harmed or killed and equipment can be damaged from the resulting detonation.
A “fast cook-off” event occurs when ordnance is heated rapidly. This can still result in ignition of the explosive material, but it is less likely to result in detonation of the ordnance. Still, ignition of the explosive material is undesirable and can cause harm to people and damage to equipment.